I'm leaning towards Serena just being a genetic oddity/anomaly etc; theres no way the WTA would or could let such an obvious case (in terms of aesthetics) go under the radar.

Most likely she's just blessed physically (strength wise)...

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I agree, but I always want to believe! After her clot and hematomas from clot meds, I just don't see her risking her health with roids. Prior to clot, maybe....but she was a burly child and some women really can put on muscle easily.

She can build herself up as much as she wants but she'll never have the natural physical strength of a man of equal size. Federer is naturally bigger than Serena. Half a foot taller and much more natural physical strength and bone density. Bigger hands, bigger wrists, just bigger and stronger all around. He doesn't do any real weight lifting nor should he. Put him in a serous weight training routine for 6 months and he'll be benching 250lbs at least.

Federer has a fairly large chest - at least relative to most of his body. His triceps are quite small, though, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could bench press his body weight. That's hardly an achievement. And most likely he could bench more than Serena.

She can build herself up as much as she wants but she'll never have the natural physical strength of a man of equal size. Federer is naturally bigger than Serena. Half a foot taller and much more natural physical strength and bone density. Bigger hands, bigger wrists, just bigger and stronger all around. He doesn't do any real weight lifting nor should he. Put him in a serous weight training routine for 6 months and he'll be benching 250lbs at least.

The word some people are using is STEROIDS. Of course the WTA will never speak about it since without Serena you have at best a ho hum tour.

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There are other possibilities as well. Human Growth Hormone (hGH) injections or supplementation is one. Another possibility is that Serena naturally produces high levels of hGH and/or testosterone.

There are quite few substances, other than anabolic steroids, that can elevate testosterone levels. Androstenedione (Andro) is one such substance. This supplement was very popular in the 1990s in the MLB (by home run king, Mark McGwire, and others). It has since been banned by the NFL, MLB, IOC and other sports governing bodies. I am not certain that it has been banned or addressed by the NBA, ITF or the USTA. In some areas/countries, Andro has been "legally defined" as an anabolic steroid even tho' it might not chemically actually be an anabolic steroid.

Since the ban of Andro by various governing bodies/agencies, a number of other designer testosterone-boosting supplements have hit the market. Some of these may actually be more potent/effective than Andro and may not (yet) be illegal or banned. One significant problem with Andro and similar testosterone-boosting products is that they can produce profound effects on mood, not unlike 'roid rage.

The Serena temper that we have seen on more than one occasion, can very well be a sign of elevated testosterone levels. I have personally experienced this pseudo 'roid rage with my limited experimentation with Andro supplments in the 90s. It produced a very marked increase in intensity and aggressiveness in my tennis game. It also produce a mild case of acne (in my 40s!). However, when I realized that it also produced a hair-trigger temper flareup every once in a while, I decided to stop using it.

She was listed as being 5'7.5" in her US Open profile when she took the court in one of her matches. She herself said she was 5'8" on her Twitter some time back and then changed to 5'9" and now some sites even have her listed as 5'10". :lol:

Now they got Sharapova listed at 6'3" even though she's shorter than Andy Roddick who is 6'2".

She can build herself up as much as she wants but she'll never have the natural physical strength of a man of equal size. Federer is naturally bigger than Serena. Half a foot taller and much more natural physical strength and bone density. Bigger hands, bigger wrists, just bigger and stronger all around. He doesn't do any real weight lifting nor should he. Put him in a serous weight training routine for 6 months and he'll be benching 250lbs at least.

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Altho' you don't see it in his arms, he does show some evidence of muscle tone in his shoulders, torso/core (chest and abs) and legs. His body fat % is considerably lower than Serena's. Serena's overall size of a combination of muscle size and a higher fat content (her ample mams are clear evidence of that body fat content).

Roger undoubtedly has a fairly high % of fast-twitch muscles fibers (both type IIa and type IIx). These type II fibers produce power (speed strength). They do not necessarily need to be huge to produce power. Bodybuilders will often have large muscles and can lift/press large amount of weight but will not necessarily be able to produce a lot of power. For instance they might not be able to throw a ball very hard/fast or sprint very fast either. Powerlifters or Olympic weightlifters, OTOH, have developed both power and size (but not always definition).

I may have it wrong but I thinks that type IIa fibers can be developed to increase muscle size significantly. OTOH, type IIx fibers (and the slow-twitch, type I fibers) do not increase much in size. I'm certain that this is true for type I fibers, but not absolutely sure if I've got it right for both type II fiber types.

Serena probably has a decent amount of fast-twitch fibers but her muscle fiber profile is probably not the same as Roger's. Even if she could bench press more than Roger, it seems unlikely that she can produce quite as much leg power, core power or shoulder power as Roger.

She was listed as being 5'7.5" in her US Open profile when she took the court in one of her matches. She herself said she was 5'8" on her Twitter some time back and then changed to 5'9" and now some sites even have her listed as 5'10". :lol:

Now they got Sharapova listed at 6'3" even though she's shorter than Andy Roddick who is 6'2".

Altho' you don't see it in his arms, he does show some evidence of muscle tone in his shoulders, torso/core (chest and abs) and legs. His body fat % is considerably lower than Serena's. Serena's overall size of a combination of muscle size and a higher fat content (her ample mams are clear evidence of that body fat content).

Roger undoubtedly has a fairly high % of fast-twitch muscles fibers (both type IIa and type IIx). These type II fibers produce power (speed strength). They do not necessarily need to be huge to produce power. Bodybuilders will often have large muscles and can lift/press large amount of weight but will not necessarily be able to produce a lot of power. For instance they might not be able to throw a ball very hard/fast or sprint very fast either. Powerlifters or Olympic weightlifters, OTOH, have developed both power and size (but not always definition).

I may have it wrong but I thinks that type IIa fibers can be developed to increase muscle size significantly. OTOH, type IIx fibers (and the slow-twitch, type I fibers) do not increase much in size. I'm certain that this is true for type I fibers, but not absolutely sure if I've got it right for both type II fiber types.

Serena probably has a decent amount of fast-twitch fibers but her muscle fiber profile is probably not the same as Roger's. Even if she could bench press more than Roger, it seems unlikely that she can produce quite as much leg power, core power or shoulder power as Roger.

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How much does she claim she can bench? Just remember that big muscles doesn't mean extra strength. When she actually is standing next to the likes of Federer and Nadal, you can see she's not looking imposing at all. She's small compared to them. And these guys don't exactly live in the weight room.

anybody who seen Serena up close knows she is much smaller then Roger. She is short and stocky she only looks so big cause of the perspective of camera thrs noting really thr to compare her too. Look for a pic of roger and serena and roger and sharapova. Pova is way bigger looking

anybody who seen Serena up close knows she is much smaller then Roger. She is short and stocky she only looks so big cause of the perspective of camera thrs noting really thr to compare her too. Look for a pic of roger and serena and roger and sharapova. Pova is way bigger looking

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Serena is shorter than both Fed and Shriekapova, but she has bigger arms and legs than both of them, thus she is bigger.

She can build herself up as much as she wants but she'll never have the natural physical strength of a man of equal size. Federer is naturally bigger than Serena. Half a foot taller and much more natural physical strength and bone density. Bigger hands, bigger wrists, just bigger and stronger all around. He doesn't do any real weight lifting nor should he. Put him in a serous weight training routine for 6 months and he'll be benching 250lbs at least.

She was listed as being 5'7.5" in her US Open profile when she took the court in one of her matches. She herself said she was 5'8" on her Twitter some time back and then changed to 5'9" and now some sites even have her listed as 5'10". :lol:

Now they got Sharapova listed at 6'3" even though she's shorter than Andy Roddick who is 6'2".

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and in the photo serena looks an inch shorter so unless andy is lying:
andy 6'2,maria 6'1, serena 6

She was listed as being 5'7.5" in her US Open profile when she took the court in one of her matches. She herself said she was 5'8" on her Twitter some time back and then changed to 5'9" and now some sites even have her listed as 5'10". :lol:

Now they got Sharapova listed at 6'3" even though she's shorter than Andy Roddick who is 6'2".

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and in the photo serena looks an inch shorter so unless andy is lying:
andy 6'2,maria 6'o, serena 5'10

Altho' you don't see it in his arms, he does show some evidence of muscle tone in his shoulders, torso/core (chest and abs) and legs. His body fat % is considerably lower than Serena's. Serena's overall size of a combination of muscle size and a higher fat content (her ample mams are clear evidence of that body fat content).

Roger undoubtedly has a fairly high % of fast-twitch muscles fibers (both type IIa and type IIx). These type II fibers produce power (speed strength). They do not necessarily need to be huge to produce power. Bodybuilders will often have large muscles and can lift/press large amount of weight but will not necessarily be able to produce a lot of power. For instance they might not be able to throw a ball very hard/fast or sprint very fast either. Powerlifters or Olympic weightlifters, OTOH, have developed both power and size (but not always definition).

I may have it wrong but I thinks that type IIa fibers can be developed to increase muscle size significantly. OTOH, type IIx fibers (and the slow-twitch, type I fibers) do not increase much in size. I'm certain that this is true for type I fibers, but not absolutely sure if I've got it right for both type II fiber types.

Serena probably has a decent amount of fast-twitch fibers but her muscle fiber profile is probably not the same as Roger's. Even if she could bench press more than Roger, it seems unlikely that she can produce quite as much leg power, core power or shoulder power as Roger.

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that's the topic question....all that other stuff is grade a butthurt.

Yeah, I notice he keeps carefully avoiding addressing the overwhelming visual evidence of the pictures in this thread. Anybody who claims that she is a half a foot shorter than Fed is, uh, badly mistaken.

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Never trust anything you read about players' heights on this forum. There are some clowns here who seem to think that, unlike any normal guy and his best friend, pro tennis players don't know their own heights or they lie about it on paper. You always hear statements like "Sampras was 5 ft 10. Max." :lol:

I know! When you see her shoulders (back view), you can't help but think that body was made to have muscle. I still think Fed would easily benchpress more than her. Even slight guys are deceptively strong, and he's an athlete who uses his upper body. I think there are probably some small, nonathletic guys she could out do, but not a pro or amateur tennis player. Doesn't take away from her awesome fitness though!

I know! When you see her shoulders (back view), you can't help but think that body was made to have muscle. I still think Fed would easily benchpress more than her. Even slight guys are deceptively strong, and he's an athlete who uses his upper body. I think there are probably some small, nonathletic guys she could out do, but not a pro or amateur tennis player. Doesn't take away from her awesome fitness though!

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Ehh I don't know, Federer's pathetic left arm might be too much of a detriment. He couldn't balance the weight properly when benching.